​Information About

News Columns

Author Bios

Tom Turpin is a Purdue University professor of entomology and Cooperative Extension Service entomologist. Turpin created "Bug Bowl" in 1990 to demonstrate insect mobility to his students; the annual event now attracts more than 20,000 people as well as worldwide media attention. A popular speaker, he gives presentations on a variety of agricultural-related topics to audiences of all ages and has been featured in national magazines, on network television shows, and talk and call-in radio programs. A dedicated teacher, he has received numerous teaching honors, including Purdue's top undergraduate teaching award.

B. Rosie Lerner is Consumer Horticulturist for the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service. She has authored or co-authored nearly 1,000 Extension bulletins, articles, book chapters and books, including Possum in the Pawpaw Tree: A Seasonal Guide to Midwestern Gardening. She also established a consumer horticulture Web site that attracts over 1 million visits each year and is a former state coordinator of Indiana's Master Gardener Program. Lerner is a familiar face at Purdue Extension's "Plant Info To Go" booth at the Indiana State Fair, Indianapolis Flower & Patio Show and other gardening-related events.

Larry DeBoer is a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. An expert on state and local public policy, his computer models for analyzing tax structures and revenue have been widely used by the Indiana General Assembly, particularly during reassessment and property-tax restructuring conducted by the state. DeBoer works with the Indiana Legislative Services Agency on tax and finance issues, including the annual state revenue forecasts. To share his tax expertise with the public, he created the Indiana Local Government Web site http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/crd/localgov/ to help citizens understand tax and budget issues.